Falmouth’s COVID-19 facility to be ready soon, says contractor

WESTERN BUREAU:

While not giving a definitive date, Richard Rogers, the contractor behind the COVID-19 field hospital which is under construction at Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny, says he is confident that the facility will be completed and ready for occupancy within a short time.

“Having missed the two deadlines we had given previously, I am reluctant to give another timeline,” said Rogers. “We are not going to give another date but I think I can safely say there will be no more delays and the facility will be completed and delivered in short order.”

When Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton broke ground for the $36-million facility, which is slated to feature 36 beds, he said the facility was to be ready by November 30, 2020. However, issues to include an extended period of persistent rains forced a significant slowdown in construction.

Since then, the plan for the field hospital, which was initially expected to be temporary, has changed and is now slated to become a part of the hospital, albeit it will initially be used to house COVID-19 cases. In fact, the roof is being constructed in such a way that other structures can be constructed on it in the future.

“The roof can accommodate a similar size ward to make for a two-storey facility. Room is here for the installation of elevators to access a second floor,” explained Rogers. “It has vast scope to be improved on what will exist when we are finished with the current phase of construction.”

During a recent visit to the under-construction building, which is also been referred to as an expansion ward, Errol Greene, who heads the Western Regional Health Authority, said the health ministry was already in on the plans to expand the new structure.

“The budget for the ward has been completed and sent to the ministry. It includes staffing from doctors down,” said Greene, who declined to give a costing, saying it would be more appropriate for the health minister to supply that figure.

“The Canadian Government has donated CDN$100,000 towards the purchase of beds. It will ease the burden on Government’s infrastructure cost,” added Greene.

Dr Leighton Perrins, the chief executive officer at the Falmouth Hospital; and businessman Kenneth Grant, the chair of the hospital’s board of management, have both been calling for the delivery of the new facility, especially with the serious nature of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“The spike in COVID-19 cases puts pressure on the three beds, which we have dedicated for patients with the virus,” said Perrins.

In the case of Grant, who has been calling for the hospital to be upgraded from a Type C to a Type B based on the volume of work it is carrying, he just wants to see the new facility completed.

“It cannot come too soon. The people are refusing to wear masks, and this is contributing to the spike. This makes the completion a high priority,” said Grant.